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_ Open Space _

_ Our destination and our home. _

By Puma Concolor.

A fan work done for my good friend.

Angelita Pierterson

Her character used with express permission

and is copyrighted only to her.

Editing by Dasher Cheetah, My personal Thanks.

_ Chapter 3 _

Mary and I did a quick clean up of each other and changed into the medical scrubs provided. Dr Lazarus had routed all bodies recovered direct to the ship's morgue as reports from my crew had rendered an explanation as to the deaths of the remaining stowaways.

As it had turned out there were 7 pallets that had been altered to smuggle the occupants on board. Each hid a light weight plastic bubble with a rather antiquated O2 generator

re-breather apprentice. Each one designed for a single occupant space suit. Each pallet with the exception of the first one had six mice of mixed gender. To complicate matters the systems used carbon air scrubbers to remove the exhaled CO2. Even in their prime these were only good for about 240 hrs for a single user. I knew for a fact the load sat in dry dock for over 4 days and in orbit for another one, not to mention the 24 after we had signed the manifest taking responsibility for the load. The pallets that had 6 occupants wouldn't have lived 40 to 60 hrs and it was only because the last contained only two and the bag ruptured allowing the CO2 to escape that had saved the two we had.

I had spent the last 30 hrs laboriously keeping track of my ward as she was not responding as well as the male even though neither has regained consciousnessas of yet.

I was setting on my bench fighting sleep as Mary had nodded off over an hour ago. Neither of us had sleep in over 55 hours. I was starting to nod off myself when I heard a voice, "Concolor? You got a second?" This was not the voice of the doctor and it took several moments for it to finally register this was the Captain.

I stood slowly shacking off what fatigue I could and turned to face my CO.

"Yes Sir. I'm still here and you can have as much time as you want. Sir.."

"You can drop the formalities Puma You and I go too far back for that. How you holding up?"

"I'm doing ok, Tired is all. I'll get a report over to you as soon as I get out of here."

"Ok, Don't sweat it. Randy and your crew have done a smash up job going through the entire bay. They filed all the reports and with Doc's coroner's report We have a good idea what and how it happened. Port officials have been notified and the smugglers are in custody. Looks like they are facing two charges of reckless endangerment and at least 36 counts of murder. I'm sure that list will keep building as the investigation progresses"

"Aaa yea. Speaking of reports, you are going to get a dandy from the control op about me. I was a bit less than diplomatic on our way out." I apologized.

"Yea, already got that. Only took about two hours for that weasel to be at my desk screaming. Puma, you know as well as I do the cargo foreman has the final word when it comes to safety in a cargo hold. And that's you. Don't let the little asshole bully you. Besides if he had it his way he would have every Anthro on-board jettisoned into open space."

"But still..."

"No apologies Puma. I just wish I had a hundred more of you and one less of him. Besides, You're the only cargo specialist in the fleet who will even put up with him." The Captain chuckled.

"Ok, but only because I'm to tired to argue." I snickered.

"After you get some sleep send me your rendition of what happened and I'll use the reports I already have. Oh, and keep it simple. I don't want it anything more than I can read in 30 seconds or less."

"Aye Cap. You have any idea what we're going to do with them?" I asked.

"Not sure. Until we know more they are under you and Yeomen Pikes' custody. If it looks like they've broken any laws we'll put them under stasis. Until then it's your top priority to take care of them until we can find out why and for what purpose they were being smuggled. They are our leading, best, and only evidence now."

"Ok Cap. We'll do our best."

"I expect no less. Oh and Puma. Get some sleep. You look terrible." The Captain chuckled.

"Puma, you may want to belay that. Looks like your girl is coming up." Doc interrupted.

"How's she doing Doc?" I said turning to my patient.

"I'm not sure. Her heart rate is way up, way more than I'm comfortable with for some one of her size. Brain wave and REM activity is off the chart. We may have to sedate her."

I leaned over her getting close to her as her eyes started to flutter.

"Easy girl, your safe..Take a deep breath." I spoke softly and soothingly.

Her eyes shot open in terror as she focused on me. Her mouth dropped open in a silent scream as she tried to cover her face just before every muscle in her body tensed and she dropped back to unconsciousness The monitors started screaming as they flat lined.

"Whats going on Laz!" I shouted over the warning buzzers.

"I don't know. We're loosing her. Get clear for auto DefIB: "

I jumped back just in time for the first jolt to race through her chest. A second hit her just moments later as I watched the monitors.

"No response, Adrenaline ejection." Doc announced as I knew the long needle was automatically punched up through her back by the remotely operated system of the bed and ejected a carefully measured dose of stimulant directly into her heart.

"CLEAR FOR DEFIB: "

Again the small body jumped as the current pulsed through her.

"Still no response. It's as if she is willing herself to death. Puma. Talk to her!"

"What?"

"Talk to her, say anything! Try to get her to respond!"

"Come on you.. Come back to us. You can't die lady .." I spoke softly into her ear.

"Louder! You need to get her attention! Do it or we loose her!"Doc shouted over the intercom."

"I am!!!"

"Concolor, if you don't do it and do it now, she is going to die... Do you understand? She is going to DIE ON YOU!"

I had to reach her, shock her, to touch her primal instinct. There was one chance, One chance only. I closed my eyes and reached deep back into the darkest reaches of my soul. I brought up centuries of pain, fear, hatred and heartache. I brought up images of those who I had lost and images of those who had taken them from me. The image of my Queen, her face as she was _slaughtered_before me... My eyes flew open...

"Come on, don't make me do this... Come on, you have worked so hard to escape. You can't give up...You can't give up now damnit! I've worked too hard to keep you alive I've worked too hard to keep so many alive you are not going to die on me! You will live! _ BITCH, YOU WILL LIVE!!! _"

My eyes dilated to all pupil and my ears flattened ageist my skull as I leaned in so very close and in that one moment I was as I truly am, the predator, this was my prey my threat. I was looking into the face of death and I_ screamed! _ I screamed in a voice not heard for hundreds of years, one so primal that every living creature understood. The bone chilling scream of a true Mountain Lion!

"Run! Run as death awaits with tooth and claw! Run away my pray and live!" I growled loudly.

I leaned even closer and screamed again, my breath hot in her face as I slammed my paws down on either side of her head, my claws sinking through the mattress and deep into the pvc table top below. Her eyes shot open again this time in even more terror as she tried to cover and protect herself.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT CONCOLOR!" I faintly herd my Captain shout over the intercom. I looked up to see Mary and her ward, who were now very much awake and huddled in the far corner of the pressure vessel trembling in terror. I looked up at the Captain flanked by two security personal with phaser weapons drawn. I looked back at my mouse who was trying to inch out from under me.

"Don't you move..." I growled menacingly. She froze barely even breathing. Terror still frozen in her eyes.

I slowly stood, snarled, hissing at the onlookers before turning and moving to the far end of the tank raking my claws over the transparent aluminumwalls leaving deep gouges. There I stood staring out but not seeing anything, trying to get my instincts back in check.

To reel in the savagery that nature had over millenniums install in the very fiber of my_species._ At this moment I was as dangerous as any wild and cornered cougar with only my intellect standing between me and the wild creature I keep bottled deep within. I stood for several minutes not moving until I heard a light tap.

"Hay Puma, It's me, Laz. Talk to me buddy. Your scaring the hell out me here.." My friend stated from beyond the transparent mettle wall separating us. As my vision focused I saw for the first time since we had met, real raw emotion in hir eyes. A mixture of concern and fear.

"...sorry..."

"You Ok buddy?"

"Will be... Gotta get it under control is all Laz."

"You wanna explain?" The Captain now appeared over Laz with a look of real concern mirrored across his face as well.

"Instinct. The will to survive. Its universally encoded in everything living. I just had to be a bigger threat than the death she faced, Sorry you had to see that." I whispered.

"Yea, well it worked. She is back. Scared as hell but alive. You going to be ok? You need a sedative or something?" The doctor asked.

"It might be a good idea." The Captain echoed.

"_ No! _ No...I need to focus, I'll be fine. Really. Besides I need to reassure everyone in here I'm not really the snarling monster they just saw. And that is going to take a clear head." I said as I forced my ears to a less threatening posture.

"Ok, but next time you do that, warn me so I don't pee myself, as a matter of fact you owe me something to drink for about giving me a heart attack." Shi stated and unbeknown to the Captain, licking her lips and making an "O" indicating it was not alcohol shi was thinking of.

"We'll talk about it." I smiled realizing that with this one silly gesture Dr Lazarus had brought me a long ways back to my old and calmer self. For this I owed hir. This debit and a thrust I intended to satisfy.